How to Make Your Website Stand Out

It's a tricky thing to design a website that falls between boring and over-the-top! A lot can be said about personal tastes too. Here are some of my ideas and tips about making your website unique.

I love sunflowers. Just love them! Can you tell? Adding personal elements that you like is one way to be original. I see nothing wrong with incorporating parts of your personality into your website to make it really "you". People will likely respond to your authenticity, as long as you don't overdo it.

Robin Williams, (the author, not the actor), talks about size contrast as one of the elements of good design. Picture a very large, high resolution image offset by other, much smaller elements. This can be a very bold, effective way to get yourself across.

Yes, I'm contradicting myself. Art, (and life) is full of contradictions. Erase that image of a very large image, (and don't think of pink elephants). Now picture your browser window filled with empty space and one small, concise box with to-the-point, sparse content. Minimalism is not ideal for many projects, but an eye-catcher for some.

One of the most important aspects of a website is its navigation, so be careful playing with this. Your top priority is intuitive usability. Your main navigation can extract a stylistic element from the rest of the site. For example, colours or small snippets of an image. You can draw a person's eye in an unusual direction with navigation because it's likely to be the first thing they look for on your website.

The suggestion of something is often more powerful than the thing itself. Try playing with partial images or shapes that hint at an object. Zooming in close is one way of achieving this. Displaying the monochromatic shadow of an image is another way. Much more original than centered and square.

If you would prefer sticking to conventional design but would still like to stand out, try a more subdued approach. Throw in a subtle joke or unexpected rollover to your design. A luxurious or elaborate font juxtaposed onto a straight design can add the touch you're looking for.

Just a note about going too far. Know the rules before you break them. A website that is too far out there might discourage people from browsing or coming back. If you have a niche audience, this doesn't matter as much. I emphatically encourage creativity and innovation! Just be careful not to compromise other important aspects of your website, like functional navigation, short load times and consistency.